The present invention pertains to farm implements of the general type wherein earth-working tools are attached to a multisectional wing frame that can be rearwardly folded from an operating configuration to a transporting configuration. More specifically, the present invention pertains to the manner in which earth-working tools carried by the wing are shaped and arranged thereon to facilitate cultivation of the earth, yet without being a hindrance to folding of the wing frame to achieve desired configurations for operation or transport of the implement.
Along with the development of larger and more powerful farm tractors, cultivators have been developed which comprise a laterally extending, multisectional, folding wing frame having a span of up to 75 feet or even greater. The wing frames are foldable upwardly, forwardly or rearwardly to reduce the width thereof during transportation of the cultivator from one working site to another or to storage. Earth-working implements are carried on the frame of the wing and permit the tractor operator to work large swaths of soil during each pass over a field, hence reducing time and cost of a cultivating operation. The acceptance and use of cultivators having folding wing frames has continued to increase, especially for large farms, and there has thus been an ascendency of new earth-working tools and/or new arrangements of tools that are intended for use with these devices.
Of the various cultivators having folding wing frames, one of the more popular types has a rearwardly folding wing, i.e. the wing extends laterally with respect to the tractor during operation, and folds rearwardly with respect to the path traveled by the tractor to provide a transporting configuration whereby the width of the implement becomes narrow enough for passage through gates in fences and for negotiation of roadways over which it is pulled by a tractor.
Cultivators having rearwardly folding wing frames have become very popular, and one version thereof is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,040, but it can be determined from this patent that a problem sometimes exists in shaping and arranging the earth-working tools on the wing frame in a pattern which effects cultivation of soil as desired without hampering folding or unfolding of the wing frame to arrive, respectively, at transporting and operating configurations. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 7 of the aforementioned patent, the foldable outer wing sections that are pivotally attached to the central wing section can be staggered or offset rearwardly with respect to the central section so as to avoid entanglement and damage of the earth-working tools during folding and unfolding of the outer sections. This arrangement is, however, sometimes regarded as less than satisfactory because of its awkwardness and greater cost of fabrication.
One object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an arrangement of earth-working tools on a cultivator having a rearwardly folding wing frame whereby desirable cultivation of soil is obtained, yet without creating a hindrance to folding of the wing frame to a desired configuration.
Another object is to achieve the foregoing objects while using a first and a second set of downwardly extending, curved teeth on the wing frame which condition the soil, or serve as shanks for earth working tools, wherein the distal ends of one set of teeth being located forwardly of the distal ends of the teeth of the other set, and wherein rearward deflection of all of the teeth is substantially equal during operation of the cultivator.
Still another object is to provide for an arrangement of teeth on a cultivator having a rearwardly folding wing whereby lateral spacing of the teeth can be at regular intervals without having to stagger outer wing sections with respect to a central section.
These and other objects and advantages of the new apparatus disclosed herein will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.